How well do bunnies do on linoleum flooring?

[Tweetiepy]

I hate that Peaches slides all over when he's on the bare floor. I really would like to leave him roam around a bit but we have hardwood floors & linoleum on the main floor and he seems to skid around and lose grip on it.

He moves almost tentatively when he's on those surface and I have to admit, I may have spoiled him cuz his play area is a big ol' blanky that he can dig in and screw up while he binkies & runs around. If he makes it up the stairs and he comes down, he'll stay on that last step until I put a throw pillow at the bottom so he can land on that - or else he'll do a long jump to land on the blanket and by-pass the floor.

How bad is it for him to walk on the bare floor ? I feel so sorry for him walking on that

 

[Runestonez]

Most rabbits aren't comfortable on slippery floors.

In younger rabbits it can be bad for them causing splay leg.

In our house we use slippery floors to keep our bunns from wandering where we don't want them to...we lay down small runners or area rugs on the areas they need to cross or travel on.

Danielle

 

[MikeScone]

Tweetiepy wrote:

How bad is it for him to walk on the bare floor ? I feel so sorry for him walking on that

With fur-covered feet, it's hard for a bunny to get any friction on a shiny floor. It's not much of an issue in my house, since it's mostly carpeted. In the bathroom and kitchen, where the floors are linoleum, I've picked up cheap carpeted floor mats or runners to give the bunny some traction. You can get them at one of the big-box discount stores, and put them around to give the bunny a path to follow - they seem to enjoy leaping from mat to mat like Eliza crossing the ice...

 

[elrohwen]

I agree with the others - it's really hard for rabbits to walk on slippery floors. Many get used to it, but are never able to run and binky. I even know rescues who require you to have some sort of carpeted room where the bunny can run around.

Are there other carpeted rooms he can visit? Or could you get a big cheap area rug?

 

[EileenH]

My house is mostly hard wood floors, and Gulliver is tentative when on them. So I put down a long runner, and a 8 x 8 carpet in the room his x-pen is in, and that seems to satisfy him. But is pretty lazy anyway, one or two sprints and he's done.

Can you put something down when he out? They have that substrate material that rolls up easily, just make sure he's not a chewer and won't eat it.

 

[mysticfire]

What if the bunny chews on carpet?

 

[Runestonez]

Mostly you get holes in your carpet!

Our bunns all have carpet in their hutches...
We are lucky and they just seem to like pulling it apart rather than eating it.

To be honest the worst destruction done so far was a by our little loppy girl Zoe...she is a licker and licked a hole in the arm of the couch and a hole in the carpet! No chewing involved!

We buy our carpets at Home Depot..they have bound off cuts for $40 and up depending on the size you want...we steamclean any accidents and stitch up or trim off any chewums...then once a year...usually around Christmas (I try to pretend our house is a Walt Disney movie) we replace all the bunny carpets so everybunn looks well behaved. <snort>

I have found low loop berber to be the best for our bunns.
If they rip at it it unravels rather than coming off in peices they can eat. The longer the loops the easier it is for bunny teeth to get a hold of them!

 

[mysticfire]

Yep, that would be our problem with Twix. We have a couple holes in the carpet from where he got to. He chewed through the fabric cover for his pen, through the towel underneath, and got to the carpet. I will definitely look into the berber carpet. Thanks for the idea!

 

[goneforbaroque]

I also have hardwood floor and linoleum. In the cages I have some towels and woven straw mats if they want to be on something different. When they have play time, I have an old 6 ft long runner I lay down and they use it like a launch pad. They run around and then run down the carpet and do their kicks there since they can get traction.

 

[Flash Gordon]

i have no carpet its all bamboo flooring..so i buy cheap huge rugs at Biglots and i use that in their play area...i have like 8 of them and i rotate them as needed ..when they have accidents on them i dont bother with the steamcleaner anymore..i actually just throw the rug over our fence and spray with vinegar then hose it down ..leave it outside til its dry..not good for an expensive rug but a cheapy who cares

i dont like seeing bunnies slipping on the floors it scares me i dont want an injury...especially if they get startled..
i have a splay leg bun she gets around fine cuz its her front leg. but i can see the trouble shes gonna have as she ages..her back looks misaligned ...her splay is from birth but if they can get it from slippery floors ill do whatever it takes to avoid it.shes a beautiful blue holland lop and from what ive heard she wont live as long with her splay leg cuz her weight is not distributed over the right area of her body and her organs will take a toll on her awkward position..so do whatever u can to avoid splay leg...

 

[Nancy McClelland]

cheap throw rugs are good. I used to get used carpet from a flooring store--fresh from the dumpster--it was still clean but not in "style". Also used to go to the stores like Penneys and get used boxes--the bigger the better and open them up and use them to cover the floor with. Cheap and easy to replace.

 

[Purple Mountain Rabbitry]

there are some places that will give you carpet cause if they have any problems even a minor problem they wont use them in the store. That how mostly everyone gets their carpet squares here. lol

 

[mysticfire]

That's not a bad idea. I just wish he didn't chew on fabric. I was so excited to get the mat in the mail and use it, who knew that Twix would chew holes in it immediately, even with all the other toys in there. I will go to the local stores here and see what they can do for me. Thanks for all the ideas!